Gotlandsdricka | Jester King Brewery

Notes / Commercial Description:
Gotlandsdricka, meaning “Drink of the Good Land”, is believed to have been the beer of the Vikings. Our rendition of this ancient style is inspired by the traditional farmhouse ales once brewed on the island of Gotland, off the coast of Sweden. Unfiltered, unpasteurized, and naturally-conditioned.

Served chilled into a tulip and allowed to come to temperature over the course of consumption.

HEAD: Frothy, soft, and white in my tulip. One of the more vibrant bright white hues I've seen, and when coupled with the vibrance of the body it's a gorgeous looking brew. Light lacing adheres to the sides of the tulip as the head slowly recedes. Head retention is quite good - ~8+ minutes.

Looks fantastic. Well-carbonated judging by the appearance, and lively across the board. I'm eager to sample it.

AROMA: Boasts a superb subtle smokiness that entices the drinker, hitting on nuanced woody subtleties and showcasing the various woods used excellently: beechwood and oak unite to great effect. I don't pretend to know what birchwood smells like, but there's more smokey complexity here than you'd find in your typical rauchbier aroma. Not too harsh or aggressive with the smoke; it's more mellow than a proper Bamberger rauchbier but more prominent than a liechtenhainer or grodziskie.

Wheat and fresh 2-row keep the malt backbone soft and sweet, lending some balance to the brew and taking the edge off all that smokiness. Some floral hop character lends additional complexity...or maybe that's the sweet gale lending actual floral aromatics?

I don't get any spiciness from the rye or any of that dry berry character from the juniper.

Any farmhouse aromatics are reticent if not non-existent, as are any bacterial aromatics. Just not finding them.

Aromatic intensity is average, but the subtlety evoked here is wonderful and this aroma suggests a balanced and drinkable smoked ale. Quite lively and inviting.

TASTE & TEXTURE: The softness of the mouthfeel bolsters this ale's easy drinking, but there's plenty of smoked malt character and woodsy flavour bouncing around, hitting on subtle white oak and beechwood without any concomitant harshness or smoked aggression.

Floral hops (and, I suppose, actual floral/subtle fruity character from the sweet gale) adorns this already intricate brew with flowery fruity nuances. There's a lot going on here, and the smoke is dominant, but it's shockingly well balanced for a smoked ale (regardless of style) and the pleasantness of the fresh malts (rye not included; it just isn't there) is surprising.

There are traces of farmhouse yeast funk and some bacterial tartness on the finish, but otherwise they're not noticeable against the backdrop of the prominent smoke.

Mouthfeel is...well, almost perfect. Strikes a perfect balance between smoothness and coarseness. Tends towards the wet side of the dry/wet spectrum, but the smoke does drag a bit on the palate (especially in the early second act), which has the effect of lengthening flavour duration and giving one more time to appreciate the beer's astounding complexity and balance. Well-carbonated (Bottle conditioning was, as usual, the right call) and even refreshing...how many smoked beers can you say that about? Light to medium-bodied. Mild thickness/heft on the palate. Stellar execution across the board.

There's impressive harmony of flavour here. Depth of flavour is moderate and could be improved. Flavour intensity is moderate (a nice change from the many overbearing smoked beers out there). As it warms, I clock some mild (~2/10 in terms of intensity) sourness.

OVERALL: I approached this fearing it would be merely a "dollar store Sahti" given the (ostensible) use of juniper berry, but it's anything but. Closer to a well-made grodziskie but with more intricacy and better balance, Gotlandsdricka is anything but a gimmick beer. Many breweries seem to be brewing obscure beer style resurrections as a marketing ploy (here's looking at you, Dogfish Head), but Jester King delivers with this subtle and teasing brew, showing restraint with respect to the smokey flavour and dipping into some lesser used ingredients to good effect.

I can't speak to what effect the ~2.5 years of aging I gave this had, but it's a remarkable brew I'd recommend to any discerning drinker and I count it amongst Jester King's best. I'll enjoy greedily polishing off this 750 solo.

Pours clear pale gold filling to hazy orange with a large cream-colored foamy head leaving some clingy sheets. The bottom half of the bottle clouds up substantially, with a large amount of sediment if you are one of those that tries to avoid it.

Smell is smoked ham cut by a little baked pineapple and roasted lemon, with grass and smoked hay. However, this is not a smokeout like some others I've had, i.e. Ashtray Heart.

Taste starts tangy and bright, with slightly tart and dry orange, lemon and grapefruit with some light barnyard saison funk. It then subtly becomes melded with and then slightly overtaken by some campfire ash and backyard bbq, with a little bacon and pork roast, but it brightens back up to a tangy, slight sting that cleans the palate on the finish. This might turn some folks into smoked beer fans that are on the fence regarding the style, but if the style is already something you absolutely despise, then this is not for you.

There is a nice, thin froth in this medium-bodied brew, with a semi-dry finish.

Poured gently at 47°F from a 750ml bottle (bottled 21Apr16) into a tulip. Consumed on 06Sep16.
SMELL: Strong aromas of hickory smoked bacon are uniquely and suitably complemented by mild aromas of spicy juniper, sweet peach, pear, and white grape along with subtle aromas of salty minerals, sour green apple, spicy rye, toast, and sweet and earthy gale.
4.5 out of 5
TASTE: A flood of strong hickory smoked bacon and mild sour green apple flavors smother the palate. A mild shower of fruit is joined by a subtle spiciness as flavors of pear, white grape, peach and rye caress the palate. Mild flavors of salty minerals and subtle flavors of spicy juniper build up the uniqueness of the beer as the bacon flavors fade to mild. The complexity of the brew is deepened as subtle balsamic vinegar and earthy, sweet gale flavors make their debut while the juniper and salty mineral flavors grow somewhat stronger. As all the flavors now maintain and merge to form the final taste, the gale flavors manage to become slightly more dominate.
4.25 out of 5
NOTE: I have had almost every beer from Jester King, including their collaborations. This one managed to earn the title of most unique. Not only was this the most unique JK beer that I have had, but this was one of the most unique beers that I have experienced in all my years of craft. Every aspect of the brew fell together wonderfully. I only wish the smokey bacon flavors could have maintained in the taste.

L: a pinch or three darker than yellow, light gold, 50/50 opaque/clear with light easily passing through, solid 1-inch head of offwhite foam that doesn't stick; no lacing but the activity in the glass is profuse and producing a beautiful collar of white foam with a 60-70% skin

T: smoked lemons ... smoked lemon peel ... smoked aftertaste ... smoked herbs ... you can't miss the smoke; something super sweet jabs at the tongue for a second during the swallow, then is gone ... the rest is tart and smokey, summer sausage and mustard come to mind, and the aftertaste is both smoked wood and earthy -- dirt, dusty dried grain sacks, bitter hay; the flavors are mixing very well with a slight smokey burn in the back of the throat, like an alcohol burn only with a pinch of peaty smoked malt; that sweetness might be from the "fingernail polish" family of notes often found in the world of "sours", but here it's much less medicinal and sharp and much more sugary sweet

F: classic Jester King ... as good as it gets, light but well filled out by the carbonation

O: it's exactly what a smoked Jester King beer sounds like, tart, smokey and earthy with just that little hint of sweetness to make it all go down that much easier; it's unique and packed with a ton of flavor; for a smoked-beer fix, this is very, very nice

Haven't reviewed for a while now… but one smell of this beauty and I had to make sure I got this down. This… THIS is a moment in time I want to have recorded some where!

And for good reason.

Bottled December 2014. So, about one and a half years old now.

Pours a hazy deep orange gold with a very slightly off white head that is thin and dissipates quickly. The head then remains as a rim of bubbles around the digs and patches among the inner part that have floated together like little clouds. Looks pretty good.

The smell! This is what made me want to write this down! The smoke comes through like no ones business. It is pungent and like the smell of smoke off of a jacket you have worn on a backpacking trip and you have burned all sorts of wood to keep warm at night and that collected variation is kind of sour and dingy but it immediately reminds you of those nights around the fire. And it is kind of sour and lemony! A little sweaty. A little dusty and slightly sweet. In essence, it is that hiking jacket… in a glass.

The taste has got that smokey, sweaty hiking jacket taste right toward the end when it warms. But it seems nowhere as powerful as the smell. Which is probably okay. The front of it is citrusy and bright, a sprinkling of raw grain. It has a bit of grapefruit pith to it. I think you get a hit of the juniper and then the smoke comes in a bit and then it dives into the sour, smokey, sweaty jacket thing. Pretty fantastic. After this wraps up, you are left with that sense of smoke and sourness but also with a very strong earthiness.

The mouthfeel is great. It has some weight to it which I really appreciate but not too much, it isn;t tacky or sticky at all and it is no where near being too thin! It has a crispness which will keep you drinking and the sourness makes your mouth water a bit then dries out fast. It is a perfect sequence. Very satisfying. The carbonation over a year and a half is just right in my opinion. It is not too bubbly and crunchy and gives the mouthfeel a bit of a creaminess.

Overall. If I ever see this again I will buy it. It really touches on my senses and memory. This may not be at all true for everyone and it probably effects my rating, but hey. Even when I take a step back and look at it from a quality of beer look and an achievement stance I still think highly of it. I mean, achieving that kind of pungent smell is almost magic. I would buy the beer just to smell it! It is ridiculously potent in the scent and just plain interesting in taste. In my opinion, another fine and unique offering from Jester King.